China could become Porsche’s No. 1 market

Porsche’s head of sales and marketing Bernhard Maier predicts the United States’ reign as Porsche’s single largest market could end this year as China is poised to push the United States to No. 2.

And if that doesn’t happen in 2014 it will definitely take place in 2015, according to the former BMW and Jaguar Land Rover executive, who joined Porsche in 2001. He also thinks Porsche will remain the world’s most profitable automaker and it won’t add a model below the Cayman or Macan.

Porsche’s ideal balance of sales per region is about one-third each for the Americas, Europe and Asia. And Maier states that Porsche is not volume driven, with the most important thing being a qualitative, sustainable and profitable growth. The German premium automaker also wants to offer the most exclusive purchase and ownership experience for its customers.

The new Macan adds the possibility to grow in one of the fastest developing segments, allowing Porsche to tap growth in the mature markets.

Maier said global sales expectations for the new Macan are “ about 50,000 units a year, but that will not happen this year because we won’t launch the vehicle in Europe until April. Soon after that it goes on sale in the U.S. and China sales start in August. We are positioning the Macan at the very top of the compact SUV segment and we are extremely confident. In my view, the Macan opens its own sub-segment and we envisage it being a major success story in America, as well as Europe and China.”

Porsche is also poised to reach its 2018 target of 200,000 global sales as early as 2015, Maier saying that is thanks to the 2011 strategy that triggered the launch of the biggest product offensive the company has seen in its 65-year history. All started with the 911, the Boxster and the second-generation Panamera. The Macan will come to market at the same time they deliver the 918 Spyder. And they also looked at the development of the industry. Market forecasters said they expected global demand to reach about 100 million vehicles a year by the end of the decade from 60 million at the time of the plan. While the overall market is expected to grow by an average of 3 % a year, the luxury segment is forecast to expand by more than 4.5 %.

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